Features
No Woman Left Behind
Jessica Faye Carter, 05-09-2010
According to 2009 Bureau of Labor Statistics labor force projections, between 2008 and 2018, women and ethnic minorities are expected to generate the highest percentages of new entrants into the workforce. Multicultural women will be one of fastest-growing segments of the U.S. labor force. For companies developing diversity and inclusion efforts geared toward this group, an understanding of its particular workplace challenges is essential.
The primary issue facing multicultural women in the workplace is their distance from the power structure. The chief external indicators of power in corporate contexts — and in many environments — tend to be whiteness and maleness. Whether it’s the percentage of Fortune 500 CEOs or the history of the presidency, white males continue to symbolize power in ways other groups have only recently begun to experience.
Both white women and multicultural men share at least one external characteristic of power with white males. White women share the characteristic of whiteness; multicultural men share maleness. While both groups experience marginalization in corporate contexts, they also have a bridge to those in power through these shared, visible characteristics.
Multicultural women don’t share external characteristics with those in power, and this lack of a visible commonality translates into perceptions that diverse women are different. Sociological research suggests human beings are most comfortable with those who are like them, so the perception of multicultural women as different impacts not only how comfortable others are with them, but also their opportunities for advancement.
This lack of commonality between multicultural women and white men is mirrored in societal structures. Kimberlé Crenshaw, a professor of law at the University of California at Los Angeles and Columbia University, observed in a 2006 Perspectives article that there is no socially accepted space for white men and multicultural women to interact — what she termed the “living room/locker room syndrome.” According to Crenshaw, white women share the living room, or familial and personal interactions, with white men. Multicultural men share the locker room with white men, thus male bonding and common experiences.
But no such space exists for multicultural women to interact with white men. This, coupled with the absence of common external characteristics, presents significant challenges to the advancement of multicultural women at work.
The Distance Between Two Parties
Multicultural women’s distance from the power structure manifests itself in two major areas in corporate contexts: a lack of access to important networks and decision makers and challenges associated with ethnicity and gender.
For women who are “double outsiders,” gaining access to important social circles and managers directly impacts their career trajectories. Knowing the latest office happenings, managers to avoid or work for, hidden office relationships and information about new job opportunities is as important as developing technical proficiency.
For some multicultural women, developing social relationships with colleagues is a secondary consideration after performance. Having been taught repeatedly that excellent performance is the key to advancement, such women are reluctant to rely on relationships for advancement. They might be overheard saying, “I’m not here to make friends; I have a job to do.” Or they may find it difficult to break into different social circles. They may not feel welcomed, may be uncomfortable with after-work activities or may just feel as if they don’t belong.
Multicultural women’s lack of access to informal networks is echoed by their lack of access to sponsors and mentors. Women lacking familiarity with the subtleties of corporate culture benefit significantly from mentoring relationships, which can teach them the unwritten rules, keep them away from political land mines and prepare them for the next level in their careers. Sponsors are able to guide these women’s careers to a higher level, advocating for them at executive-level meetings.
Claire Tse, CEO of Tse Solutions LLC and co-author of The SOLVE Communication Method: Working Out of the Bamboo Box with Asian Pacific Americans and African, European, Hispanic, and Native Americans, said developing relationships with sponsors and mentors also can shift the internal focus of diverse women. “Multicultural women are excellent in building alliances to serve others,” said Tse, “yet they must balance this with seeking those who can be of service to them.”
Hypervisibility, Status Incongruence and Microaggressions
Multicultural women face ethnic and gender challenges that closely resemble those facing their white female and ethnic male counterparts, including stereotypes, hypervisibility, status incongruence and microaggressions. But for multicultural women these challenges take on different forms.
According to 2005 Catalyst research, women managers generally face stereotypes that they are better at “taking care” than “taking charge,” but for multicultural women, this stereotype has a different resonance. Historically, in American homes, diverse women have held roles as nannies or domestic help. As a result, some managers and colleagues are conditioned to see multicultural women as caretakers — not leaders. It takes considerable time and effort for these co-workers to consider multicultural women as executive material. One senior executive multicultural woman discussing this topic said she was often asked to serve coffee at meetings where she was the most senior person in the room. Everyone assumed one of the white males who worked for her was in charge.
Hypervisibility occurs when multicultural women experience increased attention due to visible distinctions in their appearance, such as skin color, or other cultural distinctions, such as religious attire. This heightened visibility leads to what Stacy Blake-Beard, associate professor of management at the Simmons College School of Management, calls the “double bind of visibility.” In a bind, the visible employees adopt one of two strategies: trying to stand out and take advantage of their visibility or trying to lay so low they are virtually invisible. Neither strategy is effective for career advancement. Multicultural women who adopt the stand-out strategy experience excessive scrutiny about their performance and often find their mistakes are treated as proof of incompetence, not as developmental opportunities. Alternatively, those who seek to keep their heads down may find themselves forgotten when it comes time to select new leaders.
Status incongruence is a sociological term that signifies a disparity in a person’s observable characteristics, perceived social status and functional role. In a corporate setting, this incongruence might occur when a person’s ethnicity or gender is thought to be at odds with his or her level of responsibility. For example, an employee reporting to a multicultural woman manager may feel uncomfortable, particularly if the employee’s experience with diverse women has not involved the women holding power.
